The Seadog Report

Greetings Sharkfans, welcome to the latest installment of the Seadog Report! Week 17 is in the books; I hope everyone had a good end to the regular season. I’m going to take this chance to look a little at the playoffs from a “defense” perspective, but first let’s do the “Top Dawgs” one last time this season:

This past week’s Top Dawgs

DLKGB GB I’m not even going to attempt his name here. How about “Grabmeabeer Kbiamia”? Close enough. (6 tackles, 1 assists, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble) That’s the way to finish up the season!

LB Jonathan Vilma NYJ I’m going to give it to Vilma this week. (6 tackles, 2 pass-defensed and 1 int for a TD) I think DJ Williams is good and certainly had the numbers this year for rookie LBs, but I really think Vilma will be something special. I’m anxious to see how he does next year as he anchors the Jet’s defense.

DBNate Clements BUF I almost put down Greg Wesley’s name here, but let’s give it up to Clements this week (7 tackles, 2 pass-defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 1 intfor a TD) Clements has had a pretty good year, and his play this past week came close to getting the Bills a shot at the playoffs.

Seadog’s picks of the week

I thought that I’d take this spot to mention a few comments about the playoff teams from a defensive perspective.

St. Louis Rams The Rams’ defense isn’t very good. They are not good against the run and their defensive backs aren’t too swift either. However, they will play the Seahawks tough.

Seattle Seahawks I’m a huge Seahawk fan, but I don’t have a lot of faith in this defense. Stopping the run will be a problem for them, but their secondary should be okay. Lack of pass rush will hurt them.

Minnesota VikingsThe Viking’s ‘D’ is, in my humble opinion, the worst defense out of all the playoff teams. Look for Mr. Favre to have a big day when they play them on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers I’m not sure exactly why, but the Pack’s defense has picked it up a few notches over the last few weeks. The Vike’s will put up some numbers, but Green Bay’s defense will be the key to their victory this week.

New York JetsI said at the beginning of the year that the Jets would be one of the most improved defensive units this year and for once I was right. A strong pass rush, much improved linebacker corps, and an adequate secondary are the reasons that the Jets are in the playoffs right now. However, they will only get as far as Curtis Martin can carry them.

San Diego ChargersVery much underrated; The Chargers will stop the run (i.e. Curtis Martin) this week because they are good at it and their weak secondary will do okay.

Denver BroncosThe Bronco’s defense has been tough all year. Not stifling – but tough. Their secondary will let them down (sorry, Champ!)

Indianapolis Colts Much like Green Bay, the Colts have been getting it done on defense when they’ve had to the last few weeks. They will be much better on turf, but will falter when they have to play the Pats outdoors.

New England Patriots In my humble opinion, the best defense in football (partly because they have the best coaching staff in football). Their weak spots will be in the secondary and injury problems.

Pittsburgh Steelers Another smothering defense; I just think Pittsburgh’s ‘D’ will falter a bit when they play the Patriots in the AFC championship game.

Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles defense will be the reason they do well in these playoffs; not the offense. Don’t get me wrong, the Eagles have got a pretty potent offense, but the offense is a little out of synch right now. If the Eagles win, it will be because of their defense.

Atlanta Falcons Atlanta doesn’t have the best defense out of all the playoff teams, but they have a pretty good one. Their suspect secondary that they had at the beginning of the year has been coming together lately. Watch out for those Falcons!

Superbowl prediction: Pats over the Falcons 27-24 on a last second Vinatieri field goal

Well, this is probably going to be the last Seadog Report for a while. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Tony, Rob, and all you faithful readers for putting up with me and my IDP ramblings. My predictions and advice was dead on some weeks and way off on others. (Hey, what can I say, IDPs are tough to call). However, I was hoping to provide Fantasysharks with some type of IDP input and to try to stimulate some good IDP chatter and I think both of those goals were accomplished this year. Thanks again everyone for reading! See you in the forums!

About Fantasy Sharks

FantasySharks.com began in 2003, disseminating fantasy football content on the web for free. It is, or has been, home to some of the most talented and best known fantasy writers on the planet. Owned and operated by Tony Holm (5 time Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall-of-Fame nominee,) Tony started writing fantasy content in 1993 for the only three fantasy football web sites in existence at the time.